Mario Collection
by MetaBlade
Summary: A collection of unrelated oneshots involving various Mario characters and settings. Will be updated whenever I have ideas. (Most are LuigiXDaisy, but there are other characters and pairings too.)
1. Wildflowers

**A/N: I had this idea a while ago, but only just got around to making it happen. So, this is going to be a collection of Mario oneshots - either too short or (in my opinion) too low-quality to be published on their own. There won't be any fixed update schedule for these; it'll be updated whenever I have something to post. I recommend following this 'collection' to see any future stories I add to it.**

 **This first story is from my series in which Luigi is blind. The other stories (published separately) are called Sounds Like Textures and Dance in the Dark, so feel free to check those out as well. None of them have to be read in any order.**

* * *

 **Title: Wildflowers**

 **Characters: Luigi, Daisy**

 **Genre: Romance/Friendship**

 **Rating: K+**

 **Warnings: None**

* * *

Armchairs were the best. Big, warm, squishy things that were comfortable to sit on and could even be slept on if you so desired. Really, there was never a time when armchairs weren't a viable option. This was likely the reason why Mario and Luigi's house had three of the things. Luigi's was always shifted a bit closer to the fireplace than the others, as if he thought no-one would notice him moving it.

It was almost nine in the evening when he suddenly woke up in his chair, surprised to find the house so quiet before he remembered that Mario had taken Peach out for dinner that evening. They must not be home yet.

With a tiny sigh, he groped around for his cane. At the same moment, there came a clicking noise - very faint, but audible - followed by a whisper of cool air moving through the house. It was coming from the direction of the front hallway. The front door opening.

Luigi liked to consider himself not paranoid. He'd been working on getting his stupid fears under control for years now, and was quite proud of his efforts. Despite that, he couldn't deny that his mind immediately went to burglers and serial killers.

 _Why did Mario leave the door unlocked?!_ he thought, fighting off rising panic as his gloved fingers curled around the handle of his cane. He stood up and turned to face the front hall, with vague notions of using the stick as a defensive weapon. Unfortunately, it was made of lightweight wood and was much more likely to snap in half than break bones if he hit someone with it.

He heard footsteps coming up the front hall, and sensed the air pressure shifting as somebody entered the living-room where he was. At the same time, a familiar odour of grass and wildflowers assaulted his nostrils.

'Hey, Luigi!' He had no time to respond before a soft and surprisingly warm body slammed into him with a force sufficient to make him rock back on his heels, and a pair of strong arms lifted to wrap around his waist.

'...Daisy?' Just as fast as it had come, the panic was trickling away. He'd recognise that beautiful voice, full of enthusiasm and positive spirit, anywhere, just as surely as he remembered that sweet smell. He felt like he was sitting in a grassy meadow under the glowing sunshine with daisies and buttercups growing in abundunce all around him.

Almost without a conscious thought, he felt his arms go around her. He was still holding his cane, which clattered lightly against the floor as he moved.

'Thought I'd stop by and visit,' said Daisy. 'I knew you were on your own tonight, and, well, that suits me just fine. I get to have you all to myself.' He could hear the laughter in her voice and it made him smile as well.

Ever since he'd lost use of his vision, Luigi had found himself having to work harder, search longer, for the good moments in life. There seemed to be so many things he'd once enjoyed that he couldn't do anymore. But when he found them, the good moments were _so_ good - things felt so much more intense than they used to feel. Just being so close to Daisy and breathing in the wildflower scent of her was making his mind go haywire.

'Thanks for coming,' he said, now hearing the grin in his own voice. 'You'd never believe how quiet it is whenever Mario's not around... It's peaceful, but... it's kind of lonely too.'

Daisy drew back a little, and he knew she was looking at his face, studying his expression, with amusement and maybe a hint of sadness. He always knew when people were staring at him; it had become a game of Daisy's to see how long she could do so before he broke the silence or got uncomfortable. He thought the record was about half a minute - but that had been the first time they saw each other after his accident.

'So,' she said at last, breaking the silence. 'I've got nothing much to do all evening... Want to go out somewhere and eat?'

He nodded, a little shyly. It was ridiculous, he thought, that after more than a year of being together he was STILL nervous around Daisy at odd moments. 'Of course. I'd love to.'

Their hands found each other, and together they headed out the door and into the cold and windy night.


	2. Wrong Side of Town

**Title: Wrong Side of Town**

 **Characters: Peach, Waluigi**

 **Genre: Action, Friendship**

 **Rating: K+**

 **Warnings: Mild violence**

* * *

Icy rain splattered Princess Peach as she hurried through the rapidly-darkening streets. It was drenching her hair and clothes, making her berate herself for not bringing an umbrella – but she hadn't known it was going to be this wet.

Today was Friday. Peach had a habit of going out to visit the cinema every Friday night, and for the last few weeks, she'd done it successfully without anyone noticing. She always went alone. She knew Toadsworth would insist on accompanying her if he found out, and this was something she needed to do by herself – to escape the stifling feeling of being a princess, always surrounded by guards and advisors.

Until tonight, she had never once felt scared while walking home alone. Cautious, yes, uneasy perhaps, but never scared. Not really. Until now.

She ducked underneath a desolate bus stop to escape the rain and felt the first hints of fear stirring in her chest.

Oh, this was just silly. She'd been down this same route for over a month and nothing bad had ever happened to her, nor had she ever seen anything suspicious. Just graffiti, tin cans, and normal citizens doing their shopping.

After a moment's hesitation, she slipped out from under the bus stop and continued along the street, wincing as the cold rain battered her face and the wind blew her hair into her eyes.

'You're on the wrong side of town, Princess,' said a jeering voice.

She snapped around. An impossibly thin, tall figure was lurching towards her from the shadows. Struck by horror, Peach recognised neither the person's silhouette nor his voice. She was convinced she was about to be mugged or worse.

Stumbling backwards, she searched around frantically for something to use as a weapon. She had nothing on her except for her little wallet, and she was _not_ going to throw it at him just so he'd leave her alone. Instead, she swung her right leg out as if to kick the man's legs out from under him. It was a well-aimed blow, but she never felt it make contact; instead, her balance fell apart as her foot slipped and skidded on the rain-drenched pavement. A foreign hand clamped over her wrist, both restraining and supporting her.

'Cut it out, Princess,' came an irritable, nasally growl above her. Right then, as he spoke, she realised who it was.

'W-Waluigi?' she yelped, looking up into the sharp-jawed and sneering face. Was she feeling relieved because it was only him, or frightened _because_ it was him? The man had an awful reputation for stealing and cheating at games, but she hadn't known he wandered around _these_ parts of town at night.

He glanced at his hand curled around her wrist, then let go quickly as if she might give him a disease. 'Hell of a surprise meeting, Peach,' he said snidely. 'What are you doing out here so late? Got tired of sitting in your fancy castle playing dress-up?'

'You're closer to the truth than you might think,' she replied, taking a step back towards the road even though it exposed her to the pounding rain even more. She didn't want to talk to him, but hoped that if she did, he might get bored and leave her alone.

'Don't think I don't know what you're up to,' he growled.

That stopped her in her tracks. 'What?'

'Don't play stupid, Peach. You're trying to get the drop on me and Wario, aren't you? You think you can stop us from doing what we want? Well, let me warn you … this is _our_ side of town, and we don't plan on letting anyone change that, especially not some dumb stuck-up princess.'

Peach stared up at him.

'It's not about that at all!'

Waluigi made a slight movement, and she darted backwards, not wanting to risk anything he might decide to do. He was unpredictable. A criminal. What he'd just told her only confirmed that much.

'I was actually going out to see a movie,' she said, holding her head up and reminding herself that she was the ruler of the kingdom, not him. 'I was just on my way back, and… Wait, I don't have to explain any of this to you! It's none of your business what I choose to spend my time doing.' She glared at him, something she almost never did. But she'd had enough.

He leaned back a fraction, which made him look even taller than usual. Shadows half-covered his face, but strangely, Peach could make out a hint of smugness in his expression.

'So, you've got a bit of courage,' he said thoughtfully. 'Not as pathetic as I thought… That's good.'

'What are you talking about? Why does it matter to you?'

Peach had no idea what this conversation was anymore. The pounding rain seemed to have washed all sense out of her head.

This time, Waluigi definitely grinned. 'Cuz you wouldn't survive very long out here if you couldn't stand up for yourself, Princess.'

He had barely finished speaking when a tremendous crash rang out across the street. Both he and Peach whirled around at the noise, just in time to watch a lone dustbin lid rolling away further down the road. Nothing else was stirring.

Not sure if this was anything to worry about, Peach looked up to see Waluigi's grey eyes looking sharp and intent.

'Right,' he said quietly after a moment. 'Get behind me.'

They both moved suddenly, Waluigi to put himself in front of her, and Peach to step alongside him, but before they'd accomplished either manouvere, something flew out of the pile of dustbins across the street and embedded itself in the pavement not six inches from Waluigi's foot. Whipping around to look, Peach was horrified to realise that the object was a knife.

Ahead of them, three figures wearing dark jackets with masks to conceal their faces sprung out of a nearby alleyway. None seemed to be armed – maybe that knife had been their only weapon – but they charged at the pair with cocked fists and yells.

Peach had never thought of Waluigi as a fighter. She'd never seen him as anything besides a selfish cheat. But for the next few seconds all she could do was watch in amazement.

The tall thin man ran forwards without hesitation, matching the criminals' speed. With a snap of his fingers he generated a miniature tornado that ripped into the gang with massive force, scattering them across the road. One of them failed to get up again after slamming down hard on his back, but the other two came sprinting at Waluigi from different directions. Instead of trying to stop them, Waluigi waited until they were nearly on top of him, then executed an impressive jump, flying high into the air. Below, the two thugs collided with an unpleasant crunch.

Waluigi landed neatly on his feet beside Peach. 'C'mon, let's get out of here,' he warned. 'They know this is Wario's territory, but they don't like him, and they'll do almost anything just to spite him.'

Peach didn't question this. Together they hurried up the street, sticking to the lighted areas under the streetlamps and avoiding the alleyways that littered the area. Waluigi's eyes constantly scanned his surroundings for threats, and Peach found hers doing the same. Though she didn't show it outwardly, she was shaken. Never before had she felt endangered while walking home at _any_ time of the day or night. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Maybe she was just a silly princess who needed people like Mario to rescue her from everything.

They were almost to the end of Wario's territory when Waluigi paused to look around. By then, some of the fear was draining out of Peach. It was quiet, though; strangely quiet. Almost _too_ quiet…

With a sudden yell, a figure taller than any of the others leapt out of the shadows and threw itself onto Waluigi before he could react, both of them crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Immediately both combatants began grappling viciously, lashing out with fists and teeth, each trying to subdue the other. Peach shrieked involuntarily, and began to look around for anything she could use as a weapon. Then she caught sight of another fallen dustbin lid lying at the side of the road, abandoned in a patch of light.

Waluigi was in the process of forcing his assailant off him when a sudden, deafening crash echoed through the streets. The thug instantly keeled over sideeways, unconscious. Getting to his feet with a grunt, Waluigi turned to see Peach standing behind where the thug had been a moment before, the filthy dustbin lid clutched in her hands. There was surprise clear in his face as their eyes met; he obviously hadn't expected her to do a thing.

Then he raised an eyebrow. 'Fancy seeing the Princess risking her nail polish…'

'Well, I wasn't going to just stand there, was I?' said Peach. It was slightly tremulous, but she managed to muster a smile as she tossed the bin lid away. Waluigi just stared.

'Yeeeaah… Listen, I guess you really do know how to take care of yourself out here.'

'This is the last time I'm taking this route home, though,' she replied, truthfully. She didn't even want to imagine what might have happened if Waluigi hadn't been here – or if that convenient dustbin lid hadn't….

He grinned, tugging the brim of his hat down to shadow his eyes. After a moment's hesitation, Peach found herself grinning back. It was impossible to feel the same disdain or indifference towards Waluigi that she'd felt before. She had seen a different side of him tonight, and learned that he could be brave, sharp-witted, and a loyal companion. And for a thief and a cheat, he was a surprisingly honest individual.

She felt sure that he'd learned new things about her, too.

Without a word, they set off back for the royal castle. Nothing else tried to attack them, and within minutes Peach spotted the magnificent white gates leading up to the castle grounds. The night was peaceful; clearly no-one had noticed her absence yet. She intended to keep it that way.

'Thanks for walking back with me, Waluigi—' she began, then broke off with a noise of surprise. She was alone.

Then she saw it; a tall thin shadow just disappearing down a side street. She smiled, perhaps a little bemusedly, then turned and hurried up through the gates. She was sure they'd meet again soon.


	3. Cliffhangers

**A/N: This one is loosely based on the Cliffhangers minigame from Mario Party 4, but it's not necessary to have played that to understand the scenario. Mario, Daisy, Luigi and Yoshi were climbing a snowy mountain together, and Daisy and Luigi got caught in a storm and have to take shelter in a nearby cave.**

 **(Also, to the guest reviewer who requested if I could write something with Mario and Pauline - I'll see what I can do! Pauline is not a character I've written before and I don't really know anything about her, but if the inspiration strikes, I might try something.)**

 **Title: Cliffhangers**

 **Characters: Daisy, Luigi**

 **Genre: Friendship / Romance / Hurt/comfort?**

 **Rating: K+**

 **Warnings: None**

* * *

Daisy gasped involuntarily as a sharp blast of icy wind crashed over her, leaving flecks of damp snow on her jacket. She'd dressed appropriately for the expedition, but no-one had anticipated the weather taking quite the severe turn it did.

Shivering, she ducked back into the low-ceilinged cave that was their only refuge. Snow had begun to pile up around the entrance, but further inside, it was sheltered from the elements. Thank the Stars it had been here at all.

'It's no use, Luigi!' she yelled, because the wind was howling loud enough to render normal speech damn near impossible. 'I can't see the others at all.'

An indistinct mumble was the only response. In the dim light, Daisy could just barely make out Luigi's form sitting against the cave wall, his silhouette broken up by the thick coat and woollen scarf he was wearing. Hurrying over, she eased herself down on her knees beside him, wincing slightly as sharp rock edge dug into her shin. His blue eyes lifted to meet hers.

'B-but they'll come and look for us, right? I-I mean, they already know we're missing, so—' He was stammering from a combination of cold and fear.

Daisy let a small sigh escape her. She hated the thought of worrying him even more, but she suspected it was better to just be honest; Luigi could sense a lie coming from a mile away. 'Sweetie, you know there's a freakin' gigantic storm happening right now. The only reason we got stuck here was because we decided to keep climbing after Mario and Yoshi had already given up. They won't be able to get up here to help us until the storm blows over.'

She saw uneasiness flash through the backs of his eyes, hidden quickly. 'Well… a-at least we'll be safe in here. Nothing will happen,' he said bravely.

She nodded, relieved that he was taking it so well. 'Yep. So we just have to sit tight and wait.' She reached out to the backpack that she'd dumped on the cave floor a while ago, and produced a half-empty flask of hot chocolate. 'Here, have some of this. There's plenty. And I'll check your leg for you.'

'You don't have to,' he replied as he took the warm flask from her. 'It's not that bad.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Weegee, I _heard_ when you hit your leg on that bit of rock. And the wind was so loud that I shouldn't have been able to hear anything. Just let me have a quick look.'

He eyed her silently as she worked to ease off his snow-drenched boot as gently as possible. Rolling up the bottom of his overalls, she drew in a sympathetic breath upon uncovering the damage. Thick blue-black bruising had spread up his ankle and a little bit higher, showing where he'd struck it against the protruding rock outside. It wasn't pretty.

'I don't think anything's broken,' she said. 'You're lucky, I guess.'

Luigi was pulling the cap off the flask to take a sip. He passed it back to her when he was done, and remarked, 'Mhm… I guess so. Though, what we did back there was kind of stupid.' A small shudder ran through his body. 'We're lucky to be alive at all.'

Daisy pushed aside the sudden, unexpected flare of guilt that hit her. She had been the one who suggested they keep climbing after the weather turned bad, and while Luigi hadn't protested, she could tell he was beginning to regret their hasty decision. There was no place for recklessness in mountain climbing; one foolhardy move could've resulted in both of their deaths.

She took a sip of hot chocolate and let the silence stretch out for a minute or so. Then she said, 'Yeah, sorry about that… I know it was me who suggested it, and it was a stupid idea. We could've gotten really badly hurt, or killed. If you blame me for this, I wouldn't mind in the slightest.' She gave him a crooked, strangely sad, grin.

'No! Never,' Luigi insisted. Daisy lifted an eyebrow at him, and he averted his gaze. 'W-well… OK, I think it was a bit of a silly idea, but I wouldn't be angry at you for that. It was just a mistake. Besides, I don't remember myself putting up that much of an argument.'

'No, you didn't.' She scooted over to sit right beside him, leaning her back against the cool cave wall. 'But that's how it is with you – you don't make a big fuss about things, you just get on with it. You're too nice to tell people who stupid their ideas are.' She trailed off thoughtfully, and Luigi fidgeted, not sure whether to be more flattered or discomforted by her analysation of his character.

'I…' he began.'

'…And that's one of the things I love about you,' she finished.

Instantly, Luigi went into a violent coughing fit, choking on his saliva. Eventually, with the help of Daisy thumping him on the back, he regained enough control to look up at her through watering eyes.

'Y-you can't just _say_ things like that,' he gasped.

She grinned wickedly. She and Luigi weren't an official couple yet, even though they'd been on several informal 'dates' and everyone they knew was making jokes about their supposed relationship. She loved him, more than she'd ever expected to on that day two years ago when Peach had teasingly suggested that they'd make a nice couple. Sometimes she would drop hints, just for fun, but Luigi was much too shy to say anything about it. She knew they would both say it eventually; it was just a matter of patience.

'So, how do you feel? Are you warm enough?' she asked, changing the subject – much to his obvious relief.

'Y-yes, I'm fine,' he replied, nodding quickly and adjusting his thick scarf around his neck just to be sure.

'Mhm, that's a shame. It would've been nice to have to snuggle together for warmth…' She tried to hold back her laughter while he spluttered incoherently.

They waited out the hours together while the storm battered the mountainside and the wind howled like a dozen wolves outside their cave.


	4. Blackmail Material

**A/N: I have no explanation for this story whatsoever, except that this is the kind of thing my brain creates late at night. I apologise in advance.**

 **(Though, I don't have too hard a time imagining Daisy trying to blackmail people, if only in a joking manner.)**

* * *

 **Title: Blackmail Material**

 **Characters: Luigi, Daisy, Mario, Peach**

 **Genre: Romance/Humour**

 **Rating: K+ (or a T)**

 **Warnings: None**

* * *

'Wait, what-'

'Shhh.' Daisy put a finger to her lips for emphasis.

'I'm not sure why-'

'Shhhh!'

Luigi groaned, pushing up the back of his cap so he could rake some fingers through his hair in what he hoped was a suitably exasperated gesture. 'I don't understand why we're doing this.'

'Because it's fun,' Daisy replied. 'And trust me, I just know this recording will come in handy someday. Just try not to make any noise.' She gave an evil grin, shook the camera in his face, and then started walking.

They were in the gardens of Peach's castle. It was nighttime, very dark, and quite cold – which wasn't surprising given that it was January. Inside the castle, Mario was supposed to be having a romantic dinner with his lover, Princess Peach. The pair had been together for a few weeks now, but so far, they hadn't told anyone except for Luigi and Daisy. They claimed that they weren't yet ready to reveal to the whole kingdom that they were dating. In Luigi's opinion, it had more to do with the fact that Mario was scared stiff of how all their friends and family might react to the news.

 _It's ridiculous,_ he grumbled in his mind. _Everyone already knows how much they like each other..._

Abruptly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by Daisy tugging on his arm and pointing upwards. They were standing right below the castle wall. Above them was a large balcony with elegantly-carved railing made from white stone.

'That's Peach's room up there,' Daisy murmured. 'She and Mario are probably in there together. If we can climb up somehow... then I bet I can get a picture of them...'

Luigi squinted, eyeing up the distance between the balcony and the ground. He knew he could make it with a good jump, but Daisy would never be able to. Besides, the implications of her words were enough to make him want to recoil backwards as far as possible.

He turned around to find her watching him expectantly, and knew it was time to put his foot down.

'No, Daisy,' he said, in the firmest voice he could muster. 'I'm... I'm not gonna trespass on Peach's property so you can take pictures of her and Mario doing... whatever they're doing in there and use it as blackmail against them. He's my own brother!' he added in a kind of horrified whisper.

Daisy's face fell, but not for long.

'...Yeah, you're probably right,' she said thoughtfully. 'I mean, I'd never _really_ blackmail them. I just wanted to send them the pictures, for a joke. But maybe that's a little too mean even for me.' She grinned ruefully, while Luigi let out a huge sigh of relief. He loved Daisy (no matter how much he struggled to say it out loud) but there was only so much of her weird ideas and practical jokes he could take.

'Let's go, then,' he said. 'It's freezing out here...'

He started to walk back the way they'd come, when Daisy suddenly halted his movement by grabbing his arm and pushing him backwards into the castle wall. 'Wait, what-' he managed to say before ducked her head and kissed him, cutting him off.

'I didn't want this whole expedition to be a waste of time,' she said afterwards by way of explanation, while grinning mischievously. Luigi just stared up at her in a kind of daze, his hat askew.

'...I-I don't mind,' he stuttered, after several seconds of opening and closing his mouth without any words coming out. Daisy smiled (genuinely this time) and leaned down to kiss him, and this time he wasn't too surprised to respond.

Meanwhile, on the balcony above them, Peach was leaning over the railing and adjusting her camera.

'This is so weird,' Mario muttered from behind her.

She smiled. 'Well, they _were_ about to do it to us. It's only fair to take payback while we have the chance. Besides, this might come in handy for the next time Daisy and I have any disagreements about our kingdoms' alliance.'


	5. Early

**A/N: Pointless, meaningless fluff.**

* * *

 **Title: Early**

 **Characters: Luigi, Daisy**

 **Genre: Romance**

 **Rating: K+**

 **Warnings: None**

* * *

Daisy stirred awake. Luigi knew that, even though he had his eyes closed, because they were lying on a bed together – a very narrow single-person bed with barely enough room for both of them – and his head was nestled in the crook between her neck and shoulder. He would have liked to actually be holding her, or for her to be holding him, but it was July, and the heat was so bad it was verging on painful.

He kept his eyes closed while she shifted around, letting out a quiet yawn. 'Hey, Weegee,' she murmured, voice thick with sleep. 'Golfing tournament today.'

He considered trying to make a coherent response, but his vocal cords seemed to have gone on strike. 'Mhmm.'

Though he wasn't looking at her, he could practically _hear_ Daisy rolling her eyes.

'C'mon, wake up.'

'Too early,' he mumbled.

It really was, in his opinion. The golf tournament started at noon and all the participants were supposed to be gathered at Peach's castle at least half an hour before that. Luigi was actually a morning person (unlike Mario, who would be lucky if he was awake when the tournament _ended),_ but he hadn't been sleeping well lately – as Daisy was aware.

He didn't dare open his eyes to glance at the clock.

'Come on,' she said again. When Luigi didn't bother making a response, she sighed, and her fingers crept up to brush through his hair, left messy by the absence of his cap. 'Luigi, we have to get up.'

'What time is it?'

'It's...' She paused and leaned upwards slightly, trying to see the little digital clock on Luigi's bedside cabinet. 'Nearly ten o' clock.'

'Too early,' he repeated.

'We have to leave in an hour!'

'We could skip.' He kept his voice slurred and sluggish, even though he was almost fully awake by then. 'Pretend we were sick.'

'I don't want to miss the tournament...'

'Go without me.'

'Luigi.' She really sounded frustrated now. He cracked open one eye to see her propped up on her elbow, turned to the side so she could glare down at him. 'Come on,' she said yet again. 'As soon as you're up and have had some coffee, you'll feel fine. You don't _really_ want to miss the tournament. You'll probably regret it if you do.'

He sighed. He'd known all along that his plan to stay in bed would never have worked, but it still came as a slight disappointment to know that Daisy read him much better than he could ever read her. 'Alright, I'm getting up,' he mumbled, rolling to the side and reaching out for his cap. It was sitting on the bedside cabinet next to the digital clock, where it usually rested at night. He felt stupid admitting it (which meant nobody except Daisy had ever gotten the truth from him), but he didn't like having his cap too far away from him while he slept. It was a part of him. In his opinion, any moment he wasn't wearing his cap was a moment when he wasn't entirely happy – though he would never admit that either.

He scooped it up and pulled it down over his untamed bed-hair, made worse by Daisy's earlier probing. He then realised that she had already left the room and made her way towards the kitchen, undoubtedly to find something for breakfast. Finding himself alone, he sunk back against his pillow, relishing the last few moments of rest before he was unceremoniously dragged out of bed.

Just as his eyes were drifting shut, Daisy came crashing back into the bedroom.

'I'm awake!' he yelped, jerking upright so fast that he made his head spin.

'Oh, don't worry,' she said, sounding a little sheepish. 'I just got a message from Peach – apparently the tournament's being postponed an extra hour. Some kind of technical delay up at the castle.' She grinned and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at him. 'So I guess that means you don't have to get up just yet, after all.'

'Now you tell me...' he mumbled.

'Hey, it's not my fault. It was _supposed_ to start at noon.'

Luigi muttered something incoherent in response, and pulled the brim of his cap down to shield his eyes so he could get some more rest. Normally he didn't wear the cap in bed, but taking it off and putting it back on the cabinet seemed like too much effort right now. Besides... the brim made a wonderful light blocker.

He heard Daisy huff out a quiet laugh. 'How are you _this_ tired? Normally you're up way before I am...'

'I told you,' he mumbled. 'I haven't been sleeping that well.'

'Yeah, I got that. But _why?'_

He shrugged, as best as he could while lying down, and subsided into silence in the vague hope that she'd stop asking questions. The subject of Luigi's sleeping problems – which were, more often than not, caused by nightmares – had been touched upon before, but he was sure she wanted to discuss it more thoroughly.

'We should talk about that sometime,' she said thoughtfully, confirming his suspicions. 'But not today. You look like a zombie, and besides, the tournament's still on later.'

He groaned at the reminder. 'Yeah... later.'

To his surprise, she snuggled down beside him. 'We still have to get up soon,' she said insistently. But then her arm snaked around his neck, pulling him a little closer to her and resuming their earlier positions. 'But for now, you should probably try to get some more sleep.'

He made a noise that was supposed to be words but definitely didn't sound like it, and subsided into silence once again, drifting off on a comfortable tide of sleep.

Daisy looked down at him, smiled a little sadly, and took his cap off so that she could replace it on the bedside cabinet. The golf tournament hadn't really been postponed. She'd just messaged Peach to tell her that the two of them were going to be an hour late. She could never tell Luigi what she'd done; he would have a fit if he realised she had sacrificed doing something she wanted to do for his sake. But that was alright. He never needed to know.

'Who cares, anyway,' she murmured, brushing his hair back off his face. 'You're more important.'


	6. Perfect Imperfections

**A/N: I debated whether or not to post this as a separate story or not, but ultimately, it's pretty short and plotless. This is a dialogue-only story. I do them sometimes - they're quite relaxing and simple to do!**

 **Title: Perfect Imperfections**

 **Character(s): Luigi and Daisy**

 **Genre(s): Romance and hurt/comfort**

 **Rating: K+**

 **Warnings: No**

 **(On a side note - I am always open to suggestions/requests! I can't guarantee I'll do them, but suggesting prompts gives me more ideas to work off of, so feel free to do so!)**

* * *

'I don't understand.'

'Huh? ...Don't understand what, sweetie?'

'Why someone like you would _ever_ want to be with someone like me. It just seems so unbelievable, like something that was never meant to happen.'

'Weegee... We've talked about this.'

'I-I know, but-'

'What's causing those feelings to come back? Did Waluigi say something to you? Because if he did, I swear to the Stars that I'll knock his-'

'N-no, it's nothing like that! It's just... I don't know, Daisy. I just keep thinking about how you could find better people to be with than me. People who are stronger, braver, smarter.'

'Are you trying to say you know what's best for me better than I do?'

'Uhm...'

'I sure hope not, Luigi, because I make my OWN decisions, and I decided a long time ago that you're the one I really want to spend my life with.'

'But I-I'm not-'

'Everything you just said about yourself is wrong. You think you're not brave? You literally stormed a haunted hotel armed with nothing but a vacuum cleaner, to save Mario, Peach, and the Toads from a freakin' _army_ of ghosts. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. If I'd been there, I probably would've gotten captured just like the others and you would've had to heroically save me.'

'No way! I bet you would've taken the Poltergust and wiped out every single ghost in the building all by yourself. And you wouldn't have gotten scared, like me.'

'Luigi, I might be good at a lot of things - but ghosts aren't my speciality. You've fought King Boo so many times and you were completely terrified every time, but you never gave up and ran away. You fought him even though you were scared. _That's_ what real courage is, in my opinion.'

'...I... ah...'

'And the other things you said were all wrong, too. You _are_ smart - in fact you're probably one of the most intelligent people I know! You're so fun and engaging to talk to because you know so much and have so many opinions on everything. Heck, even Mario probably isn't as smart as you are. The guy only thinks about food and Peach.'

'Well... Mario makes up for that in plenty of other ways.'

'And you make up for your flaws in other ways, too. Everyone has flaws, Weegee - nobody in the world is perfect, no matter how much they want to be, or how much other people expect them to be. We're all a little bit messed up, and that's OK.'

'E-even... even you?'

'Especially me, Weegee. C'mon, you know I have all kinds of flaws. I'm stubborn and reckless and I don't think before I open my mouth.'

'But I like all those things about you... Well, I'm not sure if I like the 'reckless' part. Especially since I have to worry about you getting hurt all the time.'

'You see? Everyone has flaws. On that level, we're all as bad as each other.'

'Hmhm...'

'So, d'you wanna stay up a bit later and watch a movie or play a game or something? Cuz I'm not sure either of us will be able to go to sleep straight away, after a conversation like that.'

'Oh... sorry. I should have remembered how late it is...'

'Don't sweat about it. I love staying up with you. The only reason I don't more often is because I don't wanna deprive you of sleep. I know how often you get woken up by dreams.'

'It's getting better.'

'Huh? What was that? I didn't hear you.'

'I said... the dreams... or nightmares, rather... they're better when you're around. Being near you seems to help, somehow. Maybe it's just from knowing that you're here and you'll hold me and talk to me about it afterwards. Or maybe I just don't have nightmares because, when you're here, all the bad stuff just seems to fade away.'

'...Weegee?'

'Y-yes?'

'That has got to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard anyone say, especially about _me._ Come over here.'

'H-hey!'

'Let's just watch a horrible cheesy romance movie and snuggle together, OK? There's nothing I want more than to spend time with you right now.'

'W-well, I'll never say no to something like that. What should we watch?'

'Hmm, I dunno, what do you feel like seeing?'

'How about... The Mushroom Miracle?'

'The first movie we ever watched together? Are you just trying to make me get emotional? Cuz I'll end up crying on you if we watch that, Luigi - just like I did the first time, remember? When we'd only been together for a week and you got all freaked out because I couldn't pull myself together? I cried on your shoulder for at least ten minutes.'

'I guess I'm just craving nostalgia. Don't worry, I'll hug you when you start bawling your eyes out like a baby again.'

'You're lucky I'm scared of hurting you, or I'd have pushed you off the couch for that.'


End file.
